Before the Gold Rush, Chief Walker and a tribe of Miwok Indians
occupied this placid little valley, their camp located near a fine,
clear spring. After the Gold Rush, things changed. With the discovery
of gold in Coyote Creek, a mining camp appeared almost overnight, a
camp that included a church, post office, flour mill, blacksmith,
school, two distilleries, several merchandise stores, and seven
saloons. Several thousand miners, a mixture of Chileans, Italians,
French, English, Irish, Welsh, Danes, Mexicans, and Americans were
working the placers, as well as four major mines. And as the Indians no
longer had a place to live, they left.
Coyote Creek runs through a large meadow, or flat, and as a certain
Mr. Douglas used to camp in the flat, the town came to be named after
him. Although the main industry here was mining, many settlers planted
orchards, vineyards and gardens as the ground was exceptionally
fertile. It was well they did, for the placers were worked out in a
short time and most of the camp’s population left, but at least the
crops remained.